If you want a Meet and Great, please show up

[SeaBands]

I scheduled one recently and had over 20 couples on the roll call and only 6 showed up and they were polite Canadians. So much wasted food!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry to hear that so few people showed up for your Meet & Greet.

The last I attended, over 100 people had signed up but only about 70 of us were there. Friends of ours did the Meet & Greet. There were only about 4 trays of cookies and they were gone in a short time. No food wasted.

[KirkNC]

I agree, a lot of work for both the organizer and HAL so its a shame when people say they are coming and than don't.

[DaveOKC]

I scheduled one recently and had over 20 couples on the roll call and only 6 showed up and they were polite Canadians. So much wasted food!

 

Did the 20 couples say that they would come to the meet & greet? If so, that is a very low turnout - usually ours seem to be about 60-80% make it.

[Cruise NH]

Although I agree that not showing up is not proper, I do understand it.

 

When you agree to a time and date weeks or months in advance it all sounds fine. Then you get on the ship and see the daily program and get involved with some activity that you didn't even know existed and your sense of time goes out the door.

 

No excuse for not showing up (even late) but it happens.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

To what extent, if any, does HAL help coordinate the time/place for these meet-n-greets?

 

Tom

[DaveOKC]

To what extent, if any, does HAL help coordinate the time/place for these meet-n-greets?

 

Tom

 

There is a HAL coordinator that works with whomever is handling it from the roll call. HAL normally recommends a time, usually the first sea day in the 10-11 time slot in order to avoid conflicts with meals and other activities.

 

Of course conflicts arise and people do not make it to the meet & greet. There are just too many things to do onboard. Several times I go and my wife does the activity, so at least one of us shows up.

 

I would advise against setting up even an informal meet & greet on embarkation day. I have attempted this several times and found that almost no one shows up - there are just far too many things going on that first day onboard.

[sail7seas]

This is another reason why I never sign up for roll calls. I would not just fail to show up but I have no idea if I'd want to go when deciding months in advance. When I'm away, I don't like to make any more commitments than absolutely necessary. I want to do what I want when I want and not do what I don't want.

[sapper1]

I certainly agree that if you sign up then you show up---or notify the organizer prior to the cruise that you have changed your mind.

I have only missed one meet and greet and that was early on, due to sea sickness. That was before I discovered sea bands.

[retafcruiser]

This is another reason why I never sign up for roll calls.

 

Just because I sign up on a roll call, it doesn't mean I will attend a meet and greet.

[sail7seas]

Just because I sign up on a roll call, it doesn't mean I will attend a meet and greet.

 

Seeing I will not be sharing private excursions, what other reason would there be to sign up?

 

[rkacruiser]

I organized a M & G, informal, no HAL involvement because it was only a 4 day cruise. Small Roll Call with most saying they would attend. The attendance: one. Me!

 

On my most recent cruise, HAL provided hot beverages, water. and 2 trays of cookies. One cup of coffee was drunk and only a very few cookies consumed. I felt badly about that.

[sapper1]

Seeing I will not be sharing private excursions, what other reason would there be to sign up?

 

 

I sign up for lots of roll calls where I have no intention of taking private tours. If I hadn't I would have missed out on some lasting and richly rewarding friendships I have developed over the years.

[sail7seas]

My point is I do not wish to commit to attending M & G, would never sign up and not attend and I don't wish to share private excursions.

 

What would be the point of my doing the Roll Call?

 

....to not attend the M & G?

....to not join in private excursions?

 

Edited February 24, 2016 by sail7seas

[CJcruzer]

In my past experiences of organizing meet and greets, I hve found most people ask to be "added to a roll call". Usually, the meet and greet is not set until closer to sailing, whereas a lot of roll calls are active over a year before sailing.

 

So, depending on people's level of participation on the roll call (posting, sharing excursions/transfers, or organizing private arrangements) I have found signing up for roll call does not necessarily equate with attending a meet and greet.

 

The best anyone can do is to perhaps post, close to sailing time - usually one month before sail date I reconfirm with HAL my number of attendees) regarding the meet and greet. If you get anywhere between 85-90 % of those listed on the roll call, I would say you are doing well.

 

Many who end up not being as active on the roll call as the months go by, decide not to attend. And then there are those who just have something else which fills their time once on the ship.

 

Carol

Edited February 24, 2016 by CJcruzer

[LAFFNVEGAS]

As I stated on our Roll Call for the Koningsdam in April, I have a Love / Hate Relationship with Meet and Greets :D I love the chance to meet the people that I have been chatting with and sharing the excitement about the upcoming cruise but I hate the time designated by the cruiselines for when we must meet. This is not just HAL they all seem to want to do it the first Seat day at 10:30 or 11. My first sea day is fill with lots of other plans such as going to the spa, relaxing etc. Some of the best Meet and Greets have been impromptu at someone's cabin at sail away or some of the best attended were afternoon Meet and Greets. But anymore you never see one set up for the afternoon.

I have basically told the last several Roll Calls I have posted in that I could not attend, although my last NCL one they begged me so I did go. For the Koningsdam being the Premier HAL is not going to want to have a room for us and worry about CC for that sailing. There will be too many other things going on. But others seem to thing they will still do it even though another has posted that HAL said they would not. :o

I am enjoying chatting prior for the excitement of the upcoming cruise but the Meet and Greets just no longer fit into time that is available.

[sail7seas]

I attended (and enjoyed) some M & G's and one in particular I didn't enjoy at all :( but there was a trend for a while to have them at Sailaway either at aft pool or Bar at Lido Pool. That was an awful scheduling for what was my routine at the time and I stopped attending M & G's then. I went to a few after but it was spur of the moment and only because I happened to meet up with the organizer who invited me.

 

[rkacruiser]

My point is I do not wish to commit to attending M & G, would never sign up and not attend and I don't wish to share private excursions.

 

What would be the point of my doing the Roll Call?

 

....to not attend the M & G?

....to not join in private excursions?

 

 

As Laffnvegas just posted, I just enjoy chatting with others on the Roll Call and having a chance to get to "know" some folks prior to embarkation. Often, I learn something from the other people and I hope that maybe I can share some of the things I have learned about the cruise experience.

 

Example: Some of our VOV Roll Call members informed us of a price drop for the cruise that we did not know had happened.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

On Celebrity, NCL, and Royal - they do CC meetings "right", and have multiple staff or officers (especially NCL) in attendance. Can I assume that HAL is similar to Carnival in that you're kind of on your own?

 

Tom

[sapper1]

My point is I do not wish to commit to attending M & G, would never sign up and not attend and I don't wish to share private excursions.

 

What would be the point of my doing the Roll Call?

 

....to not attend the M & G?

....to not join in private excursions?

 

 

To meet new people and make friends?

[0bnxshs]

On Celebrity, NCL, and Royal - they do CC meetings "right", and have multiple staff or officers (especially NCL) in attendance. Can I assume that HAL is similar to Carnival in that you're kind of on your own?

 

Tom

 

Not completely. HAL will, if you arrange, provide space and drinks/snacks. However, many have reported, recently it seems that officers no longer attend. We did not have any attend our last M&G on the Maasdam in October. :(

[sail7seas]

To meet new people and make friends?

 

I give up. :D :rolleyes:

Where or how would I meet those new people were I to NOT go to the M&G which I have repeatedly stated here I do not attend and don't plan to start attending? I don't wish to go to M&G's after some of my previous experiences of complaining, naggy, demanding, entitled pax I encountered.

 

Never mind...... doesn't matter.

 

Edited February 24, 2016 by sail7seas

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have attended about 5 Meet & Greets -- only was informal as there were only a handful of us. We just met at a bar and had a drink. A few of us had cruised together before.

The last one I attended was in 2009. We did enjoy meeting people but when the Roll Calls started planning on people bringing gifts, doing cabin crawls, slot pulls, etc., that is when I stopped joining the Roll Calls. I don't even bother going to read any of them.

And I do agree about the time when HAL arranges with the person in charge of the Meet & Greets that it is usually at 10 or 11 AM on the first sea day which rarely suits us.

[sail7seas]

I have attended about 5 Meet & Greets -- only was informal as there were only a handful of us. We just met at a bar and had a drink. A few of us had cruised together before.

The last one I attended was in 2009. We did enjoy meeting people but when the Roll Calls started planning on people bringing gifts, doing cabin crawls, slot pulls, etc., that is when I stopped joining the Roll Calls. I don't even bother going to read any of them.

And I do agree about the time when HAL arranges with the person in charge of the Meet & Greets that it is usually at 10 or 11 AM on the first sea day which rarely suits us.

 

 

:) Ditto to much of this.

[Lizzie68]

The OP was addressing those who were ON a roll call and expressed interest but did not turn up for the M&G. I don't think he/she was looking for reasons why some do not choose to join a roll call,

Edited February 24, 2016 by Lizzie68